Storylines Emerging from Los Angeles Kings' Predictably Tepid 2014-15 Debut

With their second championship banner raised before the game, the Los Angeles Kings laid a 4-0 egg against the San Jose Sharks to open the 2014-15 season.

This wasn’t particularly surprising.

L.A. has started slowly in head coach Darryl Sutter’s tenure. In fact, Hockey-Reference.com indicates the team began its first title defense in 2013 with a 3-5-2 record and 3.10 goals-against average.

Considering the Kings won four straight tilts against the Sharks on the road to last season’s Cup, it also stood to reason that San Jose would show much more intensity than its Californian rival on Wednesday night.

While it’s only been one game and the Kings have demonstrated an ability to right the ship over the long haul in three consecutive years, this result still highlighted a few storylines that could shape the early portion of the campaign.

Young Blueliners Struggling

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Despite the horrid start, most of the players on this squad will eventually shake the rust off. They’ve done as much in three straight seasons.

The potential issue here is that two of the rearguards with the most to prove—Slava Voynov and Brayden McNabb—didn’t provide much reason for optimism on Wednesday night.

Following a poor 2013-14, Voynov should have come flying out of the gate to announce that he’s back to top form—or at least closer than where he left off. Instead, he was once again sluggish in his decision-making and sloppy in his positioning.

He needs to elevate his play this season in order to justify his $4.17 million salary-cap hit.

McNabb, for his part, was plugged into a tough situation next to Drew Doughty. His first outing as a King saw him face tough competition, which showed. The 23-year-old was far too aggressive in his pursuit of the big hit and appeared a tad clumsy in his puck management.

If he’s penciled in as Voynov’s partner when Jake Muzzin returns—he missed the opener with an “undisclosed issue,” per Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider—the second pairing could become a serious problem area.

Chemistry Brewing on 3rd Line

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With a combined minus-six rating on the night, it might seem as though Mike Richards, Justin Williams and Dwight King had an ugly showing.

In reality, they were pretty good, comfortably winning the puck-possession battle and consistently looking to attack Antti Niemi’s net. Sure, Richards was awful at the dot (13 percent), but his group controlled traffic for most of the contest and was actually stellar on defense.

A glance at the box score won't lead many to that conclusion, but those minuses came from a couple of blunders by Doughty (Tommy Wingels’ breakaway marker) and Jonathan Quick (giveaway behind the net).

By game’s end, Richards (70.0), King (72.0) and Williams (65.6) had the three best even-strength Corsi percentages on the team. Now consider that San Jose started with the puck 87 percent of the time, and those figures become even more impressive.

The trio appeared fresh and in sync, transitioning well from defense to offense and establishing a solid forecheck throughout the game.

Maintaining this edge in the trenches would provide great support to a top six that runs about as hot-and-cold as any in the league.

With all that said, there's no telling how long this line will stay intact because Sutter has never hesitated to shuffle the deck. According to Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider, the third unit may already have been split up. If the change sticks, it would hurt the club's balance up front.

That '70s Line Will Ride Peaks and Valleys

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In terms of pure offensive potency, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson may offer the most among the Kings' forward lines. Their blend of speed, talent and finishing ability is something to behold.

However, the line features a pair of 22-year-olds, so consistency will inevitably become an issue. When the group isn’t clicking, it also has a tendency to struggle on defense. That was the case against San Jose, as the trio were shaky without the puck.

Pearson had the strongest overall game, while Carter and Toffoli weren’t as effective down low or on zone clearances.

As a result, those two didn’t limit the Sharks’ possession and ended the night with the worst even-strength Corsi percentages on the team (43.9 and 44.4, respectively).

There were offensive flashes nonetheless, as Carter came close to beating Niemi on a wraparound and Pearson fed Toffoli for a chance in tight as well. But when the pucks aren’t going in, this unit does flirt with danger.

Assuming the line stays together long-term, it should be feast or famine for most of the year.

Dustin Brown Looks Better

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Displaying pace, physicality and a willingness to shoot, L.A.’s captain was actually visible against the Sharks. That was a rare sight last season.

Sustaining that effort would be huge for Brown and the Kings, as linemates Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik require a winger who can create space while keeping up on the counterattack. Pulling his weight would also allow Williams to remain on the third line, adding phenomenal depth to the forward ranks.

No one should expect Brown to recapture his 2012 playoff form—it’s still hard to believe how well he played during that stretch—but his 27 points in 79 games in 2013-14 reflected an all-around disaster of a year.

Reasserting himself as a high-level power forward is certainly possible. He got his season off on the right foot on Wednesday by throwing his body around and firing four shots on goal.

Though he was granted very easy zone starts, he performed reasonably well and complemented his two more skilled partners.

Advanced statistics courtesy of HockeyStats.ca. Contract information courtesy of CapGeek.com.